Research Proposal Topic – DEMOCRATIC SURVEILLANCE

SOCIETY: A POSSIBLE FUTURE

Subject – The Modern State in Comparative Perspective

Paper No. – 3
Name – Medha Thakur
Course – M.A. Political Science (final year)
Roll No. – 1882110
Introduction:
“Abu Dhabi has an estimated 20,000 security cameras aimed at its 1.5 million people, while
Dubai has some 35,000 cameras watching a population of 2.8 million people.” (Bahrani
2019). CCTV cameras have become the modern jewel of most developed cities, they are
present everywhere from remote alleys, shopping complexes, residential complexes,
dashboard cameras in cars, etc. Citizens have multiple identification cards; their record exist
in various databases of the government with much of their information from height to blood
group. Some crime-reporting platform already use facial recognition technology to find
criminals. People depend on internet and social networking sites, they share so much of
their life online, their information is threatened from prying eyes of hackers, private
corporations looking to assess consumer desire and behaviour, and the government in the
name of security. Surveillance is used in various fields ranging from medical to security to
collect and assess information about people. The usefulness of it ranges from procurement
of security for the population, targeted policy making, poverty alleviation programs, etc. All
this arguably make our modern society a surveillance dependent society, some even calling
it to be a ‘surveillance society’.

Surveillance is not a new phenomenon, but its scale and methods have changed in the
modern society, its reach has expanded to the most private spheres of people. Calls can be
traced or recorded, and emails can be read by third parties which is clearly an infringement
of the rights of people.

“According to Richard J. Wilhelm, vice president, Booz.Allen & Hamilton, Bethesda,

Maryland, one of the greatest challenges the government faces today is addressing both
national security and privacy concerns. “The government has a problem dealing with privacy
issues in the information age. It must balance competing requirements for national security,
law enforcement and economic competitiveness,” Wilhelm relates.” (Lawlor 2001).

“The privacy community worries about the government or anyone having access to
encryption. And when there is a competing interest between protecting privacy and law
enforcement needs, privacy advocates think that privacy trumps. The government has to
balance these competing requirements, but it is very, very difficult,” he adds.” (Lawlor 2001).
The data protection laws have become part of laws of many countries, and privacy
infringement is seen as a violation of rights of people, yet even discontinuing surveillance is
not an option considering its reach in able to assess and analyse and solve many problems
that exist in our contemporary world. It is a powerful tool, but it is undermined by its
undemocratic nature and the threats its presents for the privacy of a common human being.

In the current scenario a space for research has been created, focused around surveillance
and privacy; while the threats of privacy has been expounded by many researches, the focus
of surveillance as a tool for development of the society is yet an understudied field. There is
a need to assess the impact and effectiveness of surveillance system for the overall
development of the society.

Another question that the new researches need to tackle is how to accommodate
surveillance under the umbrella of democratic societies, that is how to make it acceptable to
people?

Research Question and Hypothesis:

Research question: Is there scope for the democratisation of surveillance and its use for the
development of the contemporary world?

Hypothesis:

1. Use of surveillance by security agencies in prevention of crimes as well as detection

of criminals.
2. Use of surveillance social service agencies in detecting probable domestic violence
cases.
3. Use of surveillance on population to prevent contagious diseases from spreading.
4. Use of surveillance in medical screening of doctors, patients, equipments, to create a
robust health infrastructure.
5. To prepare a surveillance society which is democratic and decentralized in nature.
6. To allow community participation in surveillance of the society.
7. To see a possible end of secretive and abusive surveillance system as it exists today.
Methodology:
For the purpose of the study first I would like to delineate the definitions, scope and
rationale of it. The research uses reports, surveys and case studies by various universities
and organisations and see how these fit into the scope of this research proposal. The
method of analysis would be qualitative and descriptive in nature. Secondary resources in
the form of existing literature would be theoretically assessed for the purpose.

The rationale of the study is to see the usefulness of surveillance in multiple areas of
contemporary society due to the revolutionary tools of technology. Question is whether
new methods and tools of surveillance needs to be used because the contemporary
society’s structures demand it, and whether using the new surveillance method gives us a
benefit over earlier methods. The enquiry would see why and how these new tools are not
limited to old usage of surveillance and can be implemented in diverse fields. The structural
overhaul of the surveillance system and in place of that the state sponsored and state
orchestrated surveillance, the investigative study’s aim is to find the probability of existence
of a ‘community surveillance system’, a decentralised system which is transparent as well as
efficient and evolutionary in nature The study will be conducted in a manner to see the
possibility of such a future by assessing the account of surveillance reports and case studies
to see a rudimentary form of such ideas existing in today’s society.

The scope of the paper would be to cover mainly two areas where surveillance is widely
used, that is in the medical field and in security field. Health officials and security agencies
extensively use surveillance to create database for short term and long-term policies.

Role of CCTV for detection of crime and identifying perpetuator, use of surveillance to
reduce domestic violence and create safety inside homes and medical surveillance would be
considered for the current research to be undertaken.

Another thing that will require analysis in the case-studies or reports considered would be
the community participation in the surveillance system. So, the cases or case studies is
looked from the lens of not only in its effectiveness but also whether it was achieved
through community participation. If not whether there is scope for it.

Definitions:
Surveillance – According to Cambridge dictionary ‘surveillance’ is “the careful watching of a
person or place, especially by the police or army, because of a crime that has happened or is
expected”. Earlier in introductory part of this proposal the definition of surveillance
according to Oxford dictionary is mentioned, what we find common in both is the idea of
close observation of people which forms the basic meaning of surveillance, but both also
have added emphasis to one more thing that is its relation to prevention of crime or
detection of criminal. But this is still the secondary aspect of what a surveillance entails. But
existing use of surveillance by state or agencies is not limited to its usage for the purpose of
security and has many other applications.

Democratization – According to Oxford dictionary ‘democratization’ is “the introduction of a

democratic system or democratic principles.”

“the action of making something accessible to everyone.”

When these two definitions are taken together it is not hard to extrapolate the meaning of
phrase ‘democratization of surveillance’. It is basically to make surveillance democratic by
allowing people’s access to it.

Literature review:
The imagined ‘Orwellian society’ of the novel ‘Nineteen Eighty-four’ with its pervasive
surveillance is now our reality, what makes it different is how it is able to build and spread
itself in free societies, a point David Shenk made explains the complexity of today’s world.
Surveillance and its mass usage by government in free societies gives it a legitimacy. Of
course, when the chosen government does something, we are more cautious to not reject it
immediately and outright, and of course the use of surveillance is for all kinds of purposes. It
is used for the purpose of doing good a great many times. But the question is about the new
threats it creates for the free society.

According to David Shenk “we are, without question, headed into a world in which -mostly
by our choice – the minute details of our bodies, lives and homes will be routinely tracked
and shared.” [ CITATION she06 \l 16393 ] Because of the pervasiveness the privacy is
threatened by not only government but the eyes of hackers, who can be anyone, a
voyeuristic person, a paedophile, a scammer, corporations at lookout for even minute
details of consumers or a police officer attempting to stop a terrorist attack. The threat is
multifaceted, what is threatened is also multifaceted, what is at stake is our bodies, bank
accounts, our thoughts and ideas, etc.

“Some countries have embraced the potential of facial recognition. In China, which has
about 200m surveillance cameras, it has become a major element of the Xue Liang (Sharp
Eyes) programme, which ranks the trustworthiness of citizens and penalises or credits them
accordingly.” (Devlin 2019).

“One of the toughest questions of modern life is where to draw the bounds of privacy—and
privacy law. Digital technologies make a virtue of sharing. At the same time, the ability of
governments and companies to keep people’s activities under surveillance has never been
greater. Slick artificial-intelligence algorithms depend on data, and creeping
authoritarianism around the world means that the collection of vast quantities of data may
be a recipe for disaster.” (K.N.C 2019).

These are just small snippets of a much bigger reality, we all are currently living under the
radar of surveillance of various kinds knowingly and unknowingly. We are living in a
surveillance society. These statements are made by journalists of different news agencies,
what is common is the idea of privacy being threatened, invasion of privacy is eventually
also seen as a threat to democracy as democracy needs to protect people’s liberty to be
equal and be left alone. These articles reaffirm the stark reality of the surveillance and its
outreach.

The research undertaken is not to dispel fears that the authors have reported, rather to see
if there is a possibility for surveillance to be used for the development of the society while
we change its structure, and make it democratic in nature, by bringing in community
participation into picture and most importantly creating checks and balances so that it is not
misused.

Jack Balkin takes the American society and questions which kind of surveillance society the
people will see and want but an idea which is a surety for him is the presence as well as the
furtherance of a surveillance society. It is not a question of ‘if’ anymore rather ‘what kind’ of
surveillance society that we will see in the future. “The question is not whether we will have
a surveillance state in the years to come, but what sort of surveillance state we will have.
Will we have a government without sufficient controls over public and private surveillance,
or will we have a government that protects individual dignity and conforms both public and
private surveillance to the rule of law?”[ CITATION Bal08 \l 16393 ]

He goes on to describe what a surveillance society is and why it operates, for him it is a
permanent feature of the governance, so surveillance is here to stay. Resisting the strides of
evolution is not useful; instead of getting rid of our own invention, we need to optimise it
and bring it in line with our modern needs and values. The function of a tool or any
technology is decided by not exactly by its function rather by the functionary in whose
hands it is.

Issue exists due of uneven power relation, between surveillant and the surveyee. The fear of
an emerging expansionist state and its power to control our lives. The problem not exactly
surveillance, which might be used to eradicate poverty, or keep a record of patients to
control epidemics but it being reduced to a snooping device by the government, the
problem is against the misuse of the technology that is available.

“The National Surveillance State is a special case of the Information State-a state that tries
to identify and solve problems of governance through the collection, collation, analysis, and
production of information.”[ CITATION Bal08 \l 16393 ]“The National Surveillance State is a
permanent feature of governance, and will become as ubiquitous in time as the familiar
devices of the regulatory and welfare states. Governments will use surveillance, data
collection, and data mining technologies not only to keep Americans safe from terrorist
attacks but also prevent ordinary crime and deliver social services.' In fact, even today,
providing basic social services-like welfare benefits-and protecting key rights-like rights
against employment discrimination-are difficult, if not impossible, without extensive data
collection and analysis.”[ CITATION Bal08 \l 16393 ] If the reality is clear, the future is mapped,
for America from this account by Balkin, the reality is not much different for most countries
of Europe, Asia and the countries which are left behind are not due to will but rather due to
lack of resources. What can be the solution then, how do we maintain a balance by allowing
the world to be a surveillance society which according to many theorists we already are, and
how to still maintain privacy? How to erase fears of an emerging tyrannical state which
controls each minute detail of our life through its surveillance apparatus? The answer is we
cannot erase fears but create a surveillance society which is not authoritarian in nature –
which is a democratic setup and build on the consensus of people.
Balkin himself imagines the future surveillance society to be a “democratic information
society” that is “controlled by citizens”, this is where he and Orin S. Kerr are at consensus.
But the broad disagreement lies on the type of change that we see, while for Balkin the
change is a “a new form of governance” but for Kerr “The form of governance remains very
much the same. Rather, what Balkin describes is part of a broader societal shift away from
human observation and towards computerization.”[CITATION Ori09 \l 16393 ] According to
him what we see is a “technology problem instead of a governance problem. Technology has
changed, and the law should shift in response.”[CITATION Ori09 \l 16393 ]

Accordingly, the “changes are not so much a “new form of governance” as a new playing
field for the old one.” “Balkin sees a governance problem, so he looks to the traditional
governance solutions: Judicial review, legislative oversight, and oversight within the
executive branch. His approach appeals to a civil-libertarian audience. The “National
Surveillance State” evokes George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four, and it calls on us to remain
vigilant against the traditional threat of excessive government power” [CITATION Ori09 \l
16393 ]

But Kerr suggests looking at the problem as a technology problem, it “presents an easy case
for the expanded role of use restrictions in privacy law. When the law imposes a use
restriction, it imposes limitations on what an entity can do with information after it has been
collected”; “The technological narrative also carves out a natural role for oversight focused
on efficacy. It reminds us that surveillance and data mining are always goal-dependent”.
[CITATION Ori09 \l 16393 ]

“But viewing data mining as a technology problem instead of a governance problem forces
every data mining program to justify its existence: It exposes data mining as simply a new
tool to achieve a traditional end, focusing attention on whether each particular data mining
program can in fact achieve that end.” “New laws are needed to respond to technological
change. But the government’s functions remain the same regardless of technology:
Technology has changed how the government does its job, but the job itself remains. As
before, the legal restrictions on government practices are up to lawmakers, not the State
itself—National Surveillance or otherwise.” [CITATION Ori09 \l 16393 ]

The conflict between the two way of looking at the emerging surveillance state and the
ways to tackle its authoritative size by Balkin and Kerr fleshes out the reality of possible
surveillance state in future. Though both have argued that surveillance will be widely used
by government, and both argue for a democratic surveillance state, the methods for it to
become democratic is where they differ. While Balkin focuses on traditional methods of
lookouts that the democracy is known for, Kerr is focusing on the technological side. But
what still lacks is imagination of people participating in the system. Nowhere either looks at
making the surveillance system itself participatory, where community has a say when and
where and how much of surveillance, they accept to keep the society safe. Being
transparent is not the only feature of a democratic society, when people participate, then it
is a democracy at its best. Decentralization is necessary, or it would just remain another top-
down bureaucratic apparatus which just needs to justify its existence better due to existing
laws.

Don’t F**k With Cats: Hunting an Internet Killer is a 2019 documentary about a murderer
who kills multiple cats over a period and posts the videos anonymously over internet and
eventually goes on to kill a human being. It is also about a bunch of amateurs’ internet
enthusiasts who find who is the killer is by using internet. It is also about the security
agencies not taking the words of people seriously and delaying the process so much that the
killer gets a chance to kill a human. The existence of internet and its potential is so huge that
the killer has left his prints online and amateur internet enthusiasts are able to fish him out
of billions of people on this earth. It shows the scope of internet, also highlights how
peoples’ potential to use the same internet tools. It shows tremendous possibility for police
force to catch criminals as we all are leaving a much of our life somewhere on the internet
knowing or unknowingly. It highlights that people, common people are capable of being
huge help of law enforcement agencies and they shouldn’t be shunned, their feedbacks
taken seriously because internet is open and assessable to all for the better or for the
worse.

This example was used for two main purpose, one to show how the modern technology has
advanced and therefore surveillance system can be a huge help to law enforcement and
also to shine light upon the fact that any system which works in tandem with the people in
the said society it operates, has a better chance of being acceptable, efficient and effective.

Modern methods and technological tools have become part of routine for law
enforcements, they rely extensively on it. There have been multiple case studies regarding
the effectiveness of the emerging technology, these studies are important because the
veracity of the emerging trends needs to be qualified. It will help to see whether it will be
useful to adopt the new methods on a wide scale and whether the idea of building a
democratic surveillance state is tenable.

Presence of CCTV and forensic evidence increases the chance for positive resolution of a
case then those in which they are not present. “Bivariate comparisons of cases with and
without crime scene evidence showed statistically significant higher rates of arrest,
prosecutor referral, charging, and conviction for cases with forensic evidence.” (Peterson, et
al. 2010).

Presence of fingerprints at the crime scene has also been effective to not only catch the
criminals but also in eliminating the suspects. The presence of computerised database with
the law enforcement of fingerprints of past criminals makes the work much easier and
sophisticated. “The introduction of CODIS in 1990 (FBI’s CODIS Program), enabled law
enforcement to store DNA profile information from known offenders and to search such files
with the DNA profiles of unknown offenders recovered from the scenes of crimes. Crime
laboratories and law enforcement agencies have had considerable success in recent years
identifying otherwise unknown offenders and linking crimes together committed by the
same person by using CODIS.” (Peterson, et al. 2010).

This shows the scope as well as possibility to have similar programs in other areas of the
world for faster resolutions of cases as manual power to do the similar task would be
inadequate for the purpose. There is similar affirmative voice regarding the CCTV cameras,
though caution is always advised and these studies themselves show the limitations existing
in these tools, therefore what we see is the exhortation to give space to technology and
allow it to function long with humans, it is not about one replacing the other completely.

Analysing 251,195 crimes recorded by British Transport Police that occurred on the British
railway network between 2011 and 2015. CCTV was available to investigators in 45% of
cases and judged to be useful in29% (65% of cases in which it was available). Useful CCTV
was associated with significantly increased chances of crimes being solved for all crime types
except drugs/weapons possession and fraud. [CITATION Ash17 \l 16393 ] This is a limited study
of an area but shows the capacity for CCTV to be of similar use in other areas as well.
The case study goes on to mentions areas where CCTV wasn’t effective and therefore it
shows that any new technology is not an all miracle solution and needs to be approached
with prudence and caution. “Having useful CCTV evidence is associated with a significantly
increased detection rate for all types of crime except drugs, fraud and public
order.”[CITATION Ash17 \l 16393 ]

Another study that I found useful is one that focused on CCTV but as an early police
intervention tool. These were preliminary lessons from nine case studies.

“This study shows that CCTV does not function within a vacuum and provides food for
thought regarding how the deployment of CCTV can occur in a manner that maximizes its
effectiveness. It may not be enough for police to solely rely on the conspicuous presence of
cameras to produce deterrence.”[CITATION Piz14 \l 16393 ]

“Therefore, police should begin to think of how CCTV policies can incorporate proactive
aspects of police response rather than emphasizing surveillance cameras as a stand-alone
tactic.”[CITATION Piz14 \l 16393 ]

“CCTV seems to able to identify and direct police to risky situations that can generate crime.
the early identification of such incidents by CCTV operators can afford police an opportunity
to address the situation at the hand and prevent escalation (Owen et all, 2006).
Unfortunately, the standard police procedures relating to crime reporting and officer
dispatch seem ill-fit to address such situations. By altering the manner by which CCTV is
utilized, police may be able to improve upon the crime prevention benefits of video
surveillance systems.”[CITATION Piz14 \l 16393 ]

These are just few examples of case studies which suggest how CCTV cameras can be an
effective tool to detect crime and in some cases catch the guilty, but we also need to
consider reports which talks about overall use of surveillance system in fighting crime. The
current research would focus on domestic violence because it is an area that generates the
most controversy, it raises the privacy question the most. Yet, before we venture there,
there is one report that I would like to mention by Kevin Mccaneysep as it offers
recommendations to better the surveillance system to fight crime. Among the various
recommendations one which is most important for this present research is, its focus on
‘consensus building’. And consensus building is a step towards democratisation of
surveillance system. “Involve the community. Explaining the reasons for a surveillance
system and getting community input from the start can help gain acceptance.” [ CITATION
Mcc11 \l 16393 ]

One area that sees the most resistance to allow surveillance system is the domestic sphere,
a house is where privacy is most important and cherished. No one would like to compromise
with the privacy inside a house. Yet, there is another space that is private and should be
given primacy, it is bodily sphere of a human being. If we consider the ‘harm principle’, we
will have to give primacy to the body of a person.

It is hard to find acceptance among people and theorists to allow surveillance in the
domestic sphere, of course ‘Big Brother’ kind of world would be unacceptable to everyone
even if it would guarantee total security. But the need is to draw a line somewhere and not
completely isolate the domestic sphere from any kind of scrutiny. The surveillance here
must be more indirect, community based, participatory in nature but it needs to be under
the radar of transparency.

Domestic sphere needs to be under the scrutiny of some kind because it is not a safe space
for everyone. Intimate partner violence is more common than the society and its people
would like to accept, in many cultures it is a taboo to spill the reality of domestic violence
out in public making it more difficult to report domestic violence to police. Parental violence
on their kids as well as violence on old people is also common in many societies and exist in
almost every society.

The ‘Trials of Gabriel Fernandez’ is a hard-hitting documentary series that opens a can of
worms for the society that expects parents to be care givers as well as safety net for
children. He was brutally tortured for over a period of eight months, culminating into a
brutal beating that led to the death of an eight-year-old kid right in his home. The culprits
were none other than his own mother and her boyfriend. It raises exceedingly difficult
questions about safety of children in their home, also the fact that it didn’t happen in one
incident in a fit of aggression questions the security apparatuses of the state. This American
case also brought social services workers into a tight spot because they were informed
about it by the teacher of the kid multiple times, yet the follow up on this tip was so weak
that even after multiple rounds to Gabriel’s home, they didn’t ones check upon him
physically, neither took him to the hospital. His mother’s words were taken at face value
and he died a terrible death. This story is not a sensationalized story, multiple such cases
happen all over the world, and not many countries have a social services department even
to be blamed. Had there been a proper surveillance follow up by social workers this would
not have happened. This case was among the stand-alone cases in USA where 4 social
workers were also put at trial for negligence and falsifying records.

Domestic violence is a global problem, multiple international organisations and NGOs along
with the governments are trying to find ways to tackle. According to global estimates
published by WHO 1 in every 3 women, that is 35% of women world-wide have experienced
either physical and/or sexual intimate partner violence or non-partner sexual violence in
their lifetime. [CITATION NA17 \l 16393 ].

“Most of this violence is intimate partner violence. Worldwide, almost one third (30%) of
women who have been in a relationship report that they have experienced some form of
physical and/or sexual violence by their intimate partner in their lifetime.” [CITATION NA17 \l
16393 ].“Globally, as many as 38% of murders of women are committed by a male intimate
partner.” [CITATION NA17 \l 16393 ] “Violence can negatively affect women’s physical, mental,
sexual, and reproductive health, and may increase the risk of acquiring HIV in some
settings.”[CITATION NA17 \l 16393 ]

People all over the world is reeling under various degrees of lockdown, the global pandemic
and the spread of COVID 19 is a threat to all, yet there are many who are getting the worst
of the situation. I am pointing towards the rise of domestic violence across the globe where
victim and the perpetuator is spending more time than otherwise under the same roof.

Accordingly, news is coming from across the globe of rising cases and the difficulty of
tackling the issue due to the present crisis the world is facing.

“Marianne Hester, a Bristol University sociologist who studies abusive relationships.

Domestic violence goes up whenever families spend more time together, such as the
Christmas and summer vacations, she said.”[CITATION Tau20 \l 16393 ]

“In China, a Beijing-based NGO dedicated to combating violence against women, Equality,
has seen a surge in calls to its help line since early February, when the government locked
down cities in Hubei Province, then the outbreak’s epicentre.” [CITATION Tau20 \l 16393 ]
“In Spain, the emergency number for domestic violence received 18 percent more calls in the
first two weeks of lockdown than in the same period a month earlier.” [CITATION Tau20 \l
16393 ]

“French police reported a nationwide spike of about 30 percent in domestic violence.

Christophe Castaner, the French interior minister, said he had asked officers to be on the
lookout for abuse.”[CITATION Tau20 \l 16393 ]

These are some facts that New York Article presented about the current situation of women
living under a violent housing situation. There is no dearth of evidences for other such
instances. We don’t have a safe society and the gravity of the situation demands focus.
Surveillance system which is acceptable to people, needs to be put up to fight this crisis.

There is a model cum case study which shows that surveillance system can be effective as
well and democratic in nature, it is called ‘Domestic Violence Surveillance System’, it follows
epidemiological approach. “This approach places an emphasis on developing reliable
surveillance and monitoring systems to collect accurate data on incidence, prevalence,
settings, and victim and perpetrator characteristics for selected events. Subsequently, the
data of victims and perpetrators are examined to identify social, environmental and, at
times, genetic risk factors.”[CITATION Raf08 \l 16393 ]. “The next step in this process is to
provide decision makers with relevant information for devising suitable prevention and
intervention efforts to address risk factors. The effectiveness and efficiency of the
intervention efforts are, in turn, evaluated through the initial monitoring system.” [CITATION
Raf08 \l 16393 ].

This system focuses on creation of ‘Domestic Violence Observatories’ (domestic violence

surveillance system). The strategy involves standardized information gathering procedures
originating from the different data sources and subsequently compiling, validating and
digitalizing the information through a common software program. There are multiple
benefits of this model and they can be reduced to few points, which are: Improves and
supplements information, Detect recurrences, persons at risk, and provide follow-up, it
reports (who?, where?, what?, aggressors?, actions).[CITATION Raf08 \l 16393 ]

“The strategies included implementation of a standard digitalized reporting and analysis

system along with advocacy with community decision makers, strengthening inter-
institutional attention networks, consultation for constructing internal flow charts,
sensitizing and training network teams in charge of providing health care in cases of
domestic violence and supporting improved public policy prevention initiatives.” [CITATION
Raf08 \l 16393 ]

In 2002 CISALVA undertook a four-year project to implement an epidemiological

surveillance system related to domestic violence that might eventually have, as a result,
violence prevention and the improvement of care for domestic violence victims in the
province of Valle, Colombia. The conclusion was positive: “Findings indicate that significant
gains were made in facilitating the attention and treatment of victims of domestic violence,
improving the procedural response process and enhancing the quality of information
provided to policy-making bodies.”[CITATION Raf08 \l 16393 ]

This model is also particularly important for the current research as it focuses on collective
effort of various nodal organisations both governmental and non-governmental to achieve
the desired results.

“the project tried to inform and educate the general community. As the overall process
intended to strengthen local governance and relations with citizenry, the team project
developed an indicator for the number of complaints of family violence reported by
community members to authorities responsible for investigation and intervention.” [CITATION
Raf08 \l 16393 ].

This focus on community participation makes it an effective ‘democratic model’. This shows
the scope to bring in community participation, which is important for the success of the
model, creates a consensus among people to be part of surveillance society by becoming
the surveyor. It is not a top down approach, it is not an imposition from government, it is a
common endeavour for the good of the people. It is a participatory model, therefore tackles
a lot of insecurities that exist among people.

This model is effective to allow government to make policies which can be rooted in the
realities of specific areas for which it is targeted. “The information collected by the
implementation of the surveillance system is a powerful tool for the detection of vulnerable
groups and for improved social diagnoses from which new strategies for the prevention of
domestic violence and formulation of better policies can be devised.” [CITATION Raf08 \l
16393 ].
There is another interesting study from Indonesia, focused on data surveillance in child
protection systems. It was a collaborative effort by UNICEF and Government of Indonesia to
study and identify a method for a national child protection information system. “The study
suggests a need to reframe the dominant language from a “child protection information
management system” to a “child protection surveillance system” to promote clearer data
collection objectives and activities. Identifying a government ministry to lead child protection
efforts and to forge closer partnerships among relevant actors will be required to support a
national surveillance system. Additionally, addressing obstacles that limit child protection
incident detection at the community level is critical. In addition to strengthening Indonesia’s
system, this study’s approach and findings have the potential to help to inform ongoing child
protection system development initiatives in other countries as well.” [CITATION Boo11 \l
16393 ].

Procedures that were stressed to the system effective also stressed on inter-governmental
communication, joint effort by public and private institutions, etc. “A “coordinated
partnership” between the Ministry of Social Affairs, Bureau of Statistics, international
agencies and national universities also will be required to support a child protection
surveillance system.” [CITATION Boo11 \l 16393 ].

It also stressed the need to take community’s help because how would a system of such
large scale every work if the community doesn’t participate. Community comes into handy
to tackle such issues, but its consensus fills the bridge between policy and its
implementation. If community doesn’t proactively participate then such models cannot
become successful, for one they will resist any policy until they see its benefits and secondly
how would the surveillance happen if the community doesn’t allow or resit giving
information regarding the issues. “Addressing obstacles that limit child protection incident
detection at the community level will be critical to collaborative efforts develop an effective
national child protection surveillance system. A pilot project could be launched to activate
community actors, while also introducing more effective ways for recording and transferring
child protection data from community to district–province levels. These pilot projects would
focus on a limited number of child protection concerns. Community based organizations
would promote a community awareness raising component to establish a common
understanding among community members on what these child protection concerns are and
to report on their occurrence.”[CITATION Boo11 \l 16393 ].

Now moving towards another field which has seen a huge scope for development using
surveillance; it is the medical field. “Public health surveillance is the ongoing systematic
collection, analysis, interpretation and dissemination of health data for the planning,
implementation and evaluation of public health action." [CITATION Cho12 \l 16393 ]

Medical surveillance has been suggested and used to contain epidemics in various parts of
the world, it is in use currently to control the spread of COVID 19. Various processes like
thermal screening at airports, contact tracing of positive cases, using drones to keep a check
at public places to see that social distancing is followed is widely used by multiple
governments across the globe to contain the spread of the virus. There are multiple case
studies explaining the participation of community members to eradicate various
communicable diseases like polio or kala azar and the continued participation among
people, government and international organisation to further eradicate other diseases like
AIDS and spread information about these communicable diseases and how to get treatment
for it, they are vaccinating the population, etc.

One such study is on Niger and the role of community participation in disease surveillance.
The study was conducted “to assess the social and cultural factors that affect the detection
and reporting of disease cases in a surveillance system, using acute flaccid paralysis (AFP)
surveillance in Niger as a case study.”[CITATION MNd03 \l 16393 ] Due to many logistical
difficulties like lack of transportation and communication infrastructure traditional
surveillance system which relied on epidemiologists visiting sites to discover and investigate
cases wasn’t possible.

The method adopted to tackle the problem was focused around community’s participation,
“The quality of surveillance in developing countries can improve if a community-based
approach is adopted. Such a system has been used successfully in Niger during smallpox-
eradication and guinea worm-control campaigns. In a community-based system, community
members receive basic education or more extensive training to motivate and enable them to
notify health care staff about possible cases of disease in a timely fashion. Local
organizations, local projects and local leaders must be included to ensure the success of such
a program.”[CITATION MNd03 \l 16393 ]
“Strengthening surveillance would help to ensure the detection and reporting of disease
cases and would complement current surveillance activities. It should be noted that
community-based surveillance alone cannot improve the surveillance process without the
support of well trained and dedicated health care staff, including epidemiologists, and
minimum logistics needed to ensure communications between community members and
district epidemiologists.”[CITATION MNd03 \l 16393 ]

There are multiple researches undertaken currently to assess the use of medical surveillance
for workers, Pre-placement screening identifies subjects who are at an increased risk for
developing work related allergic diseases. “Medical surveillance is the analysis of health
information in order to identify problems that may be occurring in the workplace that
require targeted prevention. Being a preventive strategy medical surveillance combines
screening, case finding, monitoring and intervention.” [ CITATION Wil12 \l 16393 ]

Medical surveillance is also important for upcoming fields of technology where it is

necessary to study its impact on the workers such as in field of nanotechnology. One such
study concludes by saying that “Every workplace dealing with engineered nanomaterials
should conduct hazard and exposure assessments as part of an overall surveillance needs
assessment for nanotechnology workers. In workplaces where risk is felt to be present, or at
least cannot be ruled out, initiation of medical surveillance is prudent to protect workers’
health. The principles of medical surveillance are an essential component of occupational
health practice. As the production of (and potential occupational exposure to) nanomaterials
becomes more prevalent, it is important that these principles be considered for workers in
the nanotechnology industry.”[CITATION Tro \l 16393 ]

“Occupational health surveillance is the ongoing systematic collection, analysis, and

dissemination of exposure and health data on groups of workers for the purpose of
preventing illness and injury. Occupational health surveillance can help to define the
magnitude and scope of occupational health issues among groups of workers, with the
ultimate goal of prevention; occupational surveillance data are used to guide efforts to
improve worker safety and health and monitor trends over time.” [CITATION Tro \l 16393 ] This
paragraph points the immense need for undertaking health surveillance in these changing
times.
Conclusion:
The research would investigate the possibility of a different way of looking at a surveillance
system, to look at scope of creating an alternative structure which is a ‘democratic
surveillance system’. The research would see how tenable the idea is, what scope exists for
it to become a future global reality.

Without underestimating the risks or fears associated, the research undertaken would see
not only the possibility of a systematic overhaul but also check how it will be kept in check in
a proper way through laws and regulations. By analysing the existing literature on it, like
case studies and reports there seems a scope for development of such a society, the future
research would need to make the idea clearer and sustainable.

The idea of Orwellian society is not a myth, it is a possibility and a legitimate fear that must
be kept in mind when we are looking at surveillance. But this idea has emerged out of a
world view and due to the power structures as they exist. But this should not stop the future
engagement with alternative ideas where surveillance is for the betterment of the society.
The surveillance is a neutral term, it derives its meaning from the purpose of its usage.
When its purpose changes, it will bear a new meaning. When the functionary changes so do
the function of surveillance. This is of course a humongous change and not an easy one but
that shouldn’t stop the experiment of ideas and models.

Privacy of individuals is an integral part of democracy. The conflict of privacy and

surveillance is the conflict in other words between protection of democracy vs surveillance.
It is a tough battle, and any gain made at the expanse of eroding privacy would not been
able to justify itself in the long run. Yet, right to life is also a fundamental right, and at times
right to privacy seems to infringe that right, or vice versa. Bodily integrity also comes under
the right to privacy, and when it is exploited or violated it should get primacy. Under the
garb of right to privacy, one cannot turn violent. One cannot demand right to privacy to use
it for his or her criminal intents and activities.

Role of community is changing and without community’s participation it would be difficult

to achieve social and economic development of the whole community. The modern Europe
post 17th century and now almost the entire world except few exceptions has been a liberal
state and society. The Europe and Northern America are extreme libertarian societies with
focus on individual right to liberty and privacy forms, yet this is a small portion in the history
of mankind.

This doesn't mean it needs to be discarded, rather it is an invaluable idea for the democratic
society. But this individualistic society has seen community's role been taken over more or
less by the state and has become centralised. Everything from punishing the offenders for
petty crimes to protecting a child from violent homes has all become part of government’s
roles. Consequently, the community has also receded its gaze around itself and has
narrowed its reach of observation, it also feels threatened by state's gaze and yet finds itself
helpless.

That gaze or surveillance existed in history and exists now. The function of community
though has changed more drastically, it has been rendered more defunct and separated
from gaze, action and control. It is not allowed to be part of engaging in the policing of its
community and it is cornered by state power which wields its authority over it. It promises
security but without allowing active participation by its own members.

This research will try to bridge this escalating gap between state and community over the
issue of surveillance, by discussing an alternate possibility of surveillance society that is an
engagement between the government and community without the state’s expansionist
tendencies. “Thomas Harrison, publisher of Lawyers Weekly USA in Boston, relates that the
crux of the balance between law enforcement’s use of technology and concerns about
privacy lies in the interpretation of the notion of “reasonable expectation of privacy.”
Harrison, who has been covering legal issues for more than 20 years, explains that two
elements contribute to this expectation: An effort must be made to keep something private,
and society must agree that it should be private.” [CITATION Law01 \l 16393 ]. Keeping this in
account, and then looking at surveillance and its use for development of society in a
democratic fashion has a future in this globalised world and therefore requires a lot of
further study and research.
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